As the romantic world of weddings continues to join hearts and families, wedding costs are rising to coincide with changes in how ceremonies are being celebrated, with each couple looking to create their own version of a wedding aligned with their dreams and ideas. 

Yet amidst the financial crisis here in the UK, timeless traditions still sit happily alongside the upcoming trends. There’s an enduring allure to weddings, a magnetic pull drawing people in  – perhaps it’s the promise of a lifelong journey shared with the person you love most, or engaging in the joyous traditions your family has always followed, or simply the inclusive show of love that makes each wedding a cherished space of togetherness and new beginnings. 

In the National Wedding Survey, 2,400 couples who said ‘I do’ were asked to share details of their wedding in 2022, including costs, venues, honeymoons and how their story began.

With the increase of time spent online these days, it is perhaps not a surprise that a rising 26% of couples asked met through an online dating app rather than in person, and 60% of couples shared their engagement to the world on social media. 

10% of all couples asked were not living together before the big day, and 31% of couples already had children before they wed, showing a change in our societal culture and expectations when it comes to relationship structure and past formalities. 

December was shown to be the most popular month for engagements, providing a romantic backdrop of festive lights, glittering frost and celebrating the end of the year with a declaration of love. 

When it comes to the wedding planning process, the couples asked in 2022 were planning their wedding of dreams with an average cost of £18,400  – a £1,100 increase on 2021. The wedding venue was calculated at an average spend of £8,400, with the dress costing an average of £1,350. 

At Kilminorth, we have wedding experiences to suit a range of budgets across our 32-acre historic site in the Cornish countryside. We currently provide options for hosting an intimate elopement style wedding, a one-day celebration or a three-day long wedding extravaganza. Our site is blessed with several outdoor ceremony spaces, including a wild meadow, our wooden Chy Hos altar, and a breath-taking clear-top wedding marquee, as well as a handful of our luxurious cottages which are also fully licensed.

To help with costs, 63% of couples received financial gifts from friends and family to pay for their wedding and 47% of couples went over budget to make sure they could create the spectacular they envisioned, be it a grand affair or a small intimate celebration. At Kilminorth we cater for weddings of all shapes and sizes, from large parties in the marquee, to quiet elopement style weddings in our luxury cottages. 

39% of couples asked spent 12-24 months planning the perfect ceremony, and at Kilminorth our experienced wedding planner is with you for the duration, supporting your dream from start to finish. We aim to carefully curate every single detail, so that you can spend your time enjoying the whole process right through to the celebration and beyond. 

When it came to the guestlist, the average number was 81 guests, a slight increase of 9 guests on 2021. The most popular months for weddings were August and September, providing a perfect backdrop for a beautiful summer wedding, with golden landscapes and warm evening sunshine. The average cost of hiring a photographer or videographer was £1300 and £1150 respectively, capturing those magical memories shared with others to last a lifetime. 

Along with the rising trend of finding love online, an increasing number of couples are also finding their wedding suppliers through searches on Google (56%) and social media (49%). The average number of vendors hired in 2022 was 10, a 20% increase on figures from 2021. 

Despite the increase in bespoke wedding planning, couples are still honouring a few familiar traditions. Of the couples asked in 2022, 86% still had a first dance, 79% had a cake-cutting ceremony, and 68% sent their guests home with cherished wedding favours. 

Interestingly, 11% said they had an alcohol-free wedding. According to Liz Taylor, CEO of leading weddings and events management company Taylor Lynn Corporation, there has been a distinctive rise in this demand over the past few years, with requests rising by nearly 33% since 2021.¹

A wonderful rising trend is seeing an increase in couples wanting to make their celebration more eco-friendly, with 19% of couples including sustainable elements at their wedding. This includes items such as wedding favours, venue decoration and the all-important finishing touches. Searches for a sustainable wedding have dramatically increased by 75% in the last year, according to data collected by Business Waste², with an 80% increase in couples searching for sustainable wedding venues. 

We have seen a spectacular array of weddings here at Kilminorth, each one as unique as the last, and we have been honoured to share such a memorable occasion with our couples over the past 10 years. If you would like to find out more about our wedding offers, you can find them here, or feel free to contact our events manager on events@kilminorth.co.uk.

We would love to celebrate with you at Kilminorth and be a beautiful part of your love story. 

Data sourced from Hitched.co.uk article

¹  County Weddings Magazine article

² Your London Wedding Magazine article